Southport, CT, November 15, 2006/-- DiversityBusiness.com today announced its 7th annual online election for the Top 50 Corporations for Multicultural Business Opportunities will be held November 20, 2006 - December 8, 2006. The 7th annual list is produced by DiversityBusiness.com, the nation's leading multicultural B2B online portal. The voting business owners based their decisions on such factors as the volume, consistency and quality of business opportunities granted to women and minority-owned companies.
Last year over 500,000 businesses had the opportunity to vote in the online election.
To participate, businesses must register and cast their vote at:
www.DiversityBusiness.com/vote2006
The election results will be officially announced on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 12:00 EST on DiversityBusiness.com. The “Top 50 List” is recognized as America’s leading award for Fortune 500 corporations for diversity achievements.
Top Honors for Top Corporations
While other awards and “top” lists crown companies for overall economic growth, returns to shareholders and similar metrics, the Div50 is an indicator of which organizations provide the best and the most business for diversity-owned companies. In a marketplace that is increasingly as sensitive to diversity as it is to revenues, recognizing the top buyers of multicultural products and services is becoming a natural part of the new socioeconomic food chain. “Those organizations that buy the most products and services, most consistently, from diversity businesses, and that sustain the most mutually beneficial business relationships with their multicultural suppliers, should be recognized not only by the suppliers but also by the general public,” said Kenton Clarke, CEO of DiversityBusiness.com.
The Business Power of Diversity
As minorities gain more buying power and their lifestyles become more affluent, multicultural markets are growing in economic muscle. This in turn attracts more corporations, as they compete for market share in minority communities. The Div50 list has become, by virtue of association, a consumer guide of sorts for women and minority consumers. “As a diversity business owner, I appreciate the business we receive from corporate buyers; and in turn, when I buy products and services, either as a company or as a private individual, I am much more likely to buy from the same companies that are supporting my business, or that I know are supporting businesses like mine,” said Sush Tripati, owner of IT-Source headquartered in Southbury, CT.
The list is circulated to over 1,000 organizations that distribute it to their members and associates; it thus reaches millions of consumers every year. In 6 short years, it has become a highly valued metric of corporate excellence in the diversity space.
The Div50
The Div50 is a listing of the top 50 corporate and organizational buyers of diversity products and services throughout the country. It represents the voices of over 500,000 diversity-owned (women, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Indian and other minority groups) businesses in the U.S., in sectors such as technology, manufacturing, food service and professional services. The Div50 is produced annually by DiversityBusiness.com, the nation's leading multicultural B2B Internet portal that links large organizational buyers to multicultural product and service suppliers.
Here is the list of last year rankings.
01 - Lockheed Martin
02 - Bank of America
03 - BellSouth Corporation
04 - Dell
05 - Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
06 - OfficeMax
07 - IBM
08 - Procter & Gamble Co.
09 - Boeing Company
10 - The Coca-Cola Company
11 - Time Warner Inc.
12 - Raytheon Company
12 - General Mills
13 - SBC Communications / AT&T
14 - Office Depot, Inc.
15 - General Motors Corporation
16 - Toyota
17 - Northrop Grumman Corporation
18 - UPS
19 - Xerox
20 - DaimlerChrysler
21 - Avon
21 - Pepsico Inc.
22 - Altria Group
23 - Home Depot, Inc.
24 - Sprint / Nextel
25 - Johnson & Johnson
26 - Microsoft Corporation
27 - Freddie Mac
28 - Exxon Mobil
29 - Walt Disney Company
30 - Pitney Bowes
31 - Fannie Mae
32 - American Express
32 - Chevron
33 - Starbucks Corporation
34 - JCPenney Company Inc.
34 - Verizon Wireless
35 - Cisco Systems, Inc.
36 - General Dynamics Corporation
36 - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
37 - McDonald's Corporation
38 - Ford Motor Company
39 - Verizon
40 - General Electric Company
41 - Citigroup Inc
42 - Comcast Corporation
42 - Wells Fargo & Company
43 - Major League Baseball
44 - Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc
45 - Corporate Express
46 - Pfizer Inc.
47 - Progress Energy Inc.
47 - Cardinal Health
48 - Sempra Energy
49 - United Technologies
50 - Waste Management
A complete list of the winners also available online at: www.DiversityBusiness.com
About DiversityBusiness.com
Launched in 99, DiversityBusiness.com with over 32,000 members is the largest organization of diversity-owned businesses throughout the United States that provide goods and services to Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies and colleges and universities. The site has gained national recognition for its Supplier Diversity efforts and has won numerous awards for its content and design. It is a membership-based exchange platform that facilitates contacts and communication, streamlines business processes and provides vital business news and information.
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